Stop watching porn, look “macho” and avoid spending time alone with other boys – this was the advice Alvin Cheung in Hong Kong received after reaching out for help when he realised he was gay. He began going to regular counselling and prayer sessions, during which he was told he could become straight. Soon he was struggling to sleep, he lost weight and had trouble focusing on his final year of undergraduate study. Doctors diagnosed him with depression. “It made me feel guilty all the time. I felt ashamed and blamed myself for being different to other people,” Cheung said. “I wanted to commit suicide.”